by Eva Luxe
“It is,” I said. “I do this all the time. I’m one of those people.”
Cara nodded. “I’ve always had everything so perfectly planned I never really looked further than the path I had envisioned for myself. This is an eyeopener.”
“Sometimes it takes one small thing to change it all,” I agreed. “I had started like that, too. I’ve always been serious about nature, but when I was much younger I had lost a family member and we had scattered the ashes in the mountains.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It’s okay. He’d had a good life and we’d been prepared for his death. But hiking up there where no one could go by car and scattering his ashes over a place he had loved had opened my eyes to the beauty all around me. It sounds ironic that I developed a love of nature because of someone else’s death, but that’s what happened.”
“It sounds poetic to me. New life from death and all that,” Cara said, and she blushed. Until now, Cara had been so confident and taken everything in stride, so the blush was unexpected and adorable. I lifted my hand and touched her cheek. She smiled at me, unspoken words hanging between us.
“Are you back?” Rachel called, from outside the tent. That was it, our moment was over.
“Yeah,” Cara called and unzipped the tent.
When Rachel saw me, she nodded. “Good, you’re here too. I was starting to wonder if I would have to hike out to fetch you guys from wherever you were hiding.”
Cara glanced at me and we shared a moment where we both knew what we had done, our little secret. Cara crawled out of the tent first and I followed with a great view of her ass.
“Perry suggested we start dinner together,” Rachel said. She looped her arm through Cara’s and they walked to the tent together with me following. I wondered what kind of day Rachel may have had with Perry. He wasn’t one to wait to get to know a woman better before he moved in for the kill, but there was no way of knowing if Perry and I had both done the same thing in the rain.
Perry came out of our tent as soon as we arrived.
“Good, you’re still alive.”
“You were obviously very worried about me,” I said. Perry hadn’t even tried to call.
“I was worried I would have to cook all by myself, yeah,” Perry said, with a cocky grin. I shook my head, laughing.
“Just for that, I should make you do all the cooking.”
Perry snorted. I climbed into the tent and changed into dry clothes. When I was dry and warm, I was more comfortable. When I emerged from the tent, Perry and I walked to the ice box in the car together. We had brought burgers and rolls. The girls came back from their car with a bag of ready-made salad they must have bought in preparation for the hike and we had a meal. Perry started a fire to cook the burgers and we all sat down and chatted while the fire crackled and the smell of cooked meat filled the air.
“What did you do when it started to rain?” Perry asked.
“We had to turn back,” I said. “It was crazy out there.”
“I’m so glad I didn’t go out,” Rachel said. “I hate getting caught in the rain. My hair frizzes up like you can’t believe.”
“What was the point of going camping if you don’t want to rough it?” Cara asked her friend.
Rachel rolled her eyes at Cara without answering and I chuckled. They were good friends, I could tell. They had been together long enough to put up with each other’s shit. It looked almost like the same kind of friendship I had with Perry.
“I hope it clears up tomorrow so we can head out again,” Perry said. “Then you don’t have to worry about your frizzy hair.”
Rachel looked like she wasn’t sure if Perry was joking or not. I knew he wasn’t. He hated fussy girls. She shook her head.
“We’re leaving tomorrow morning.”
“What?” Cara asked. She had obviously not known of Rachel’s plans. Rachel was cutting their time short.
“I’ve had enough of the wilderness for a while.”
Cara looked like she wanted to argue, but she didn’t say anything. I didn’t want them to go. Obviously, hiking was something Cara enjoyed more than Rachel did, even though apparently Rachel was the one that had wanted to come on the hike in the first place. She had only been hiking once, the rest of the time she had been in the tent.
I looked at Cara who glanced at me. This was it, then.
We carried on preparing dinner, while Perry and Rachel bantered back and forth. The banter turned a little snide with jokes that hit below the belt now and then, and I had a feeling Perry and Rachel had gotten their fill of each other as well. Some people didn’t get along as well as others.
I didn’t say much. There wasn’t much I could add to the back and forth banter between the two of them. Cara was quiet, too.
Every now and then I wanted to start a conversation with her, but she had retreated into her shell and I didn’t know what to say. Around Rachel, Cara seemed a lot quieter. It was usually like that, there was always a friend that was louder than another.
After tonight, I wasn’t going to see Cara again. I knew it. One fuck in the rain, no matter how great it had been, was not enough reason to keep contact. And even if it was, I didn’t even know how to go about keeping contact with Cara. I was good at one-night stands, but to follow up with a woman I was interested in was a different story altogether. Besides, I wasn’t looking for something more, and after what we had done in the tent today, I doubted we would be able to just be friends. So, asking her for her number or trying to connect with her in some other way seemed like a pointless endeavor.
We ate, with Perry and Rachel providing most of the conversation for the evening. Rachel talked about the hike and how beautiful it was, but admitted that she would rather get a hotel with excellent views than connect with nature herself.
“Then you might as well buy the postcards and not bother to travel there at all,” Perry said.
Rachel shook her head. “You’re pulling it out of context. Not everyone likes camping, that’s not a crime.”
“You’re right,” Perry conceded, and Rachel looked pleased with herself. Cara glanced at me and I knew she was about as tired of the two of them as I was.
The night drew to an end. I cleaned the plates under the tap and Cara helped me. Perry and Rachel didn’t do much. Perry had cooked, so that was okay, but Rachel seemed like she was used to people doing things for her. It wasn’t that I didn’t like her, I merely couldn’t relate to her.
“Thank you for supper,” Cara said, when it was time to say goodnight.
“Of course,” I said. “If you girls need anything throughout the night, don’t hesitate to let us know.”
“Thank you,” Cara said, and stepped closer to hug me. The hug was so impersonal compared to what we had shared before. Rachel didn’t bother saying goodnight to me. She headed off to their tent without a word. Cara followed after the hug and I watched as they climbed into their tent and zipped it up.
Cara was unlike any woman I had met before. There was something about her that fascinated me. I wanted to see her at least one more time before they left in the morning. I decided I would set an alarm to wake up early, even though I usually woke up early, anyway. I didn’t want to miss them.
Perry sat back in his camping chair, staring into the embers. I sat down, too. I would have loved to have a smoke, now. But it was worth it not to do it, so I tried to ignore the craving that sometimes still hit me with full force.
“So, your day looked like it was a fun one,” I said to Perry.
He shrugged and gave me a look that suggested there was a lot more to be said that he didn’t want the girls to accidentally overhear through their thin tent walls. I chuckled. Rachel was a handful, I could see that. And Perry was a no-nonsense person. He didn’t like the idea of women being difficult or clingy, and it seemed like that was exactly how Rachel was. No doubt, we would talk about it once the girls had left tomorrow.
Perry and I spent a bit more time together,
talking shit and planning our day before I went to bed. I didn’t like staying up late. Perry sat outside, building up the fire again and he started drinking the beers he had packed. This was how we usually did it. We spent time together and we spent time apart, doing our own thing. Camping with Perry was almost like camping alone and I liked it.
My mind drifted to Cara again when I was in my sleeping bag. She was something else. Stunning, funny, smart. Very good in bed. I would have loved to see her again. But I wasn’t looking for a relationship, and as far as I could tell, neither was she. This weekend was exactly what it should have been. Other than seeing her tomorrow, it was best that Cara and I went our separate ways, leaving the weekend the gem that it was.
If I convinced myself of that, I could pretend it wasn’t a shame that I wouldn’t see her again.
Chapter 10
Cara
When I woke up, I felt disorientated, and for two seconds I had no idea where I was. It was still dark out and the tent was pitch black inside. When I looked at my phone, the time showed it was close to sunrise.
I turned onto my side and tried to go back to sleep, but I couldn’t. Today was the day we were going to go back home and if we were going to leave early, we might as well start now. I woke Rachel up.
“What is it?” Rachel asked, groggily.
“Let’s get going,” I said.
“It’s so early.”
“So, if we leave earlier will get home earlier.”
Rachel nodded, agreeing with me even though I could tell she wanted to sleep more. She could always sleep when she got back home.
Before we started to pack everything, Rachel and I took a trip in the dark to the bathroom where we brushed our teeth, brushed our hair and changed into clothes for the drive home. Now that we weren’t going to hike again, I changed into jeans and ballet flats instead of my leggings and hiking shoes. Once we were dressed and ready, Rachel and I headed back to the tent.
The sun hadn’t risen yet but the early morning had a silver quality to it, proof of the pending dawn and it was enough to see by.
Together, Rachel and I started packing up our stuff, rolling up sleeping bags and carrying our bags to the car. We took down the tent, doing what Perry and Greyson had done, backward. Breaking the tent down was a lot easier than pitching it and in no time, Rachel and I were ready to go.
I was eager to get home. When Rachel had said last night that we were leaving in the morning, I had been disappointed. I was really looking forward to heading out on the trails again, taking in views and experiencing what I hadn’t been able to yesterday, due to the rain. But now that I had wrapped my mind around leaving earlier, I was ready to go home.
Rachel and I loaded up the car. Since we already had everything packed in the car, we decided to stop at a coffee shop in the city instead of making coffee over the fire again. My coffee hadn’t been that great yesterday, even though Greyson had been polite and said it was.
“Are we ready to go?” Rachel asked.
I nodded and Rachel climbed into the car, ready to drive us home. I glanced back at Greyson and Perry’s tent. I would have liked to see Greyson one last time to say goodbye, but maybe it was best to leave things as they were. We’d had a good time together, but I was under no illusion that it meant anything more than two people caught in the throes of passion. I wasn’t going to get my hopes up, thinking it would be something I could pursue. Greyson hadn’t seemed like he was looking for someone, and it wasn’t exactly like I was, either.
We drove out of the campground and Rachel turned the car toward home.
“Did you enjoy yourself?” I asked, while we drove.
“It was great to get out of the house, but I have to admit I don’t think hiking is my thing.”
I laughed. “Yeah, I don’t think so, either. You seemed to enjoy Perry’s company, though.”
Rachel shrugged. “It was nice to meet someone new for a change, but we didn’t get along very well.”
I nodded. I had noticed the problem at dinner last night. Perry and Rachel had been joking back and forth, but the jokes had seemed a little more aggressive towards the end of the night.
“Did you sleep with him?” I asked.
“I didn’t,” Rachel said. “I mean, I would have, but it just didn’t go in that direction. He is hot and everything, but not my type. Too laid back for me.”
At that, I laughed out loud. “I never thought I would hear you say that someone was too laid back for you. Is that even possible? You are the most laid back of all the people I know.”
“Maybe that’s the problem,” Rachel said. “Opposites attract and we weren’t exactly opposite.”
I wasn’t sure about that, but I left it.
“What about you? Did you have a good weekend?” Rachel asked. “I know I cut it a little short.”
“Oh, my weekend was fine. I would have liked to stay longer, but it’s not a big deal.” I hesitated for a moment before I added, “I slept with Greyson.”
Rachel glanced at me, her lips parted in surprise.
“What?”
She had to turn her eyes back to the road and I was glad she couldn’t stare at me any longer.
“When did this happen?” she asked.
“When we were in our tent in the rain yesterday,” I said, with a shrug. I tried not to blush and be all girly about it. It wasn’t supposed to be a big deal. But thinking back to what Greyson and I had done gave me butterflies in my stomach.
“I thought you’d only gotten in just before I came to fetch you,” Rachel exclaimed. “I can’t believe it!”
I laughed, feeling on the spot. “We came back quite early, once it started pouring, and well, one thing led to another.” I didn’t know what else to say.
Thinking back to Greyson, I recalled how he had treated me. Even though the sex had been wild and urgent, Greyson had treated me like I was delicate. He had touched me and held me as if what we were doing meant something more. I was well aware that it was only a one-night-stand of sorts, but the way he had been with me had made it feel like more. Of course, that was probably Greyson’s game. I didn’t doubt that he slept with a lot of women, and I was sure he treated them the same way he had treated me. I would hold onto that and use it as my anchor whenever I felt that I could be emotionally attached to someone like him after what we had done.
Rachel badgered me, asking me questions. I didn’t want to go into too much detail. Even though the sex had been a no-strings-attached deal, I still didn’t like to kiss and tell. Rachel tried again for a bit and eventually just gave up.
“You’re no fun,” she said, pouting.
“Greyson begs to differ,” I said, with a giggle.
Rachel laughed, shaking her head. “I love it when you’re like this,” she said.
“Like what?”
“Carefree and spontaneous. You don’t do shit like this very often. It’s great to see you reach out and do something crazy once in a while.”
“I do crazy things,” I protested, but I knew Rachel was right. Everything in my life was cut-and-paste. Everything I did was planned and I had a reason for doing it. Even though I was happy with my life the way it was, I had to admit that doing something spontaneous—first the hike and then Greyson—had been a lot of fun. I wasn’t sure how often I would do something like this, but it was cool that I had stepped out of my comfort zone for once.
“Did you get his number?” Rachel asked.
I shook my head. “There was no reason to.”
“Not even for a repeat of hot monkey sex?” Rachel had managed to get enough information from me to know that the sex had been everything but straightforward vanilla.
I blushed. I couldn’t play this one cool. Hot monkey sex? It wasn’t the description I had ever attached to my love life.
“Well, at least you had a good time,” Rachel said. “Even if the trip had been to distract me from Paul, and even though I didn’t get any from the overly laid back Perry, you had a good time
and therefore it was successful.”
I pulled up my shoulders and turned my head toward the passenger window, unsure if I could agree with that or not. I didn’t know what I was feeling. A one-night stand shouldn’t have had this many emotions attached, but I didn’t sleep around very often, so maybe that was it. Maybe it was because hit-and-run sex wasn’t my style and Greyson had been a nice guy. Maybe in a different situation, I would have liked to stay in contact with him, to get to know him better. Maybe he was the type of person I could have had something more with. But we would never know that now. Considering that hiking wasn’t on my list of things I wanted to do in the near future, and that I didn’t have any contact information to connect with Greyson again if I’d wanted to, I wasn’t sure if I could call the weekend successful, at all. But Rachel had gotten her break and I had done the duty as her best friend and gone with her.
When Rachel stopped in front of my apartment, she helped me carry my bags inside. I hugged her and thanked her for the trip. Despite not having wanted to go, I did have a good time.
“I’ll see you for lunch next Thursday,” Rachel said. I nodded.
Rachel and I tried to have lunch together every two weeks. She wasn’t very busy but if I didn’t make time for the people that were important to me, I would always be at work. Being single and living alone made it too easy for me to turn into a hermit if I wasn’t careful. Because I was an introvert, I had the tendency to seclude myself, so making an effort to see Rachel as often as I could and agreeing to hiking trips even though I didn’t feel like it, were strategies that prevented me from retreating completely into my shell.
After Rachel left, I walked to the bathroom and turned on the shower. I undressed and stepped under the spray. The facilities at the campground had been a little rustic, so I’d gotten by with quick showers, leaving the luxury for when I was back home. I stood under the hot water, letting it run over my body, my thoughts wandering to Greyson again.
I had to stop thinking about him. I was back home now, back to reality. Greyson was simply part of a weekend getaway. That was it. Part of a world removed from my own. Tomorrow was Monday and I’d be going back to the office to assist James with his patients. Tomorrow I’d be back to a normal routine and everything would be planned and perfect. I’d know what to expect, I’d know how to handle everything and I’d be in control. Just the way I liked it.
